Waiting for Love
by Zid's Dag
Summary: A/U. A fairytale. A young thief searching for treasure, a captive princess under a spell. Zidane Tribal becomes a royal knight to obtain access to the castle's most precious jewels. What he finds is the most precious jewel of all, a certain Princess Garnet, kept hidden from the public eye. Can he rescue her from a life of imprisonment and loneliness?
1. A Prologue

A/N: Well, it's been quite a long time since I have written fanfiction. This is based on a dream I had a while back, and I thought the story was kind of fitting for Zidane and Dagger, so I decided, what the heck, why not have a go at a fanfiction. Hope this will be a good, light read and you'll come back for more! I just love this couple.

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A Prologue

The boss was serious. To think after ten years, raising this orphaned child, practically becoming a father, spilling his words of wisdom, showing his ways of life, he would disown the young thief.

Of course, there were always the times where the boss disapproved. He would be angry that the young blonde would deviate from the plan during a big heist, angry that the boy showed no speck of gratitude and would call his old man a lousy role model, so angry that sometimes he would smack the boy upside his head. The boss was getting older though, and his patience was running thin. After the boy had grabbed some of the gang's hard earned (well, if stealing can be considered 'hard earned') money to buy some of Lindblum's most finely cut and arranged flowers for a cute girl, the boss had had enough.

The large and jolly man, who was not looking so jolly at this particular moment, sat the boy down one evening. After a short conversation which quickly escalated into a heated argument, he rose to his feet, planting a powerful fist firmly into the table and shouted in a rough and booming voice, "Git out, and don'tchyou show yer sorry face here agin, boy!"

And the boy did not. He hitched a ride on a cargo ship that would take him far away, somewhere in which nobody knew his name or face. The quiet and rustic town of Alexandria would do. Surely they were in need of a little stirring up, some nice action. The young thief rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He imagined what kind of rare and luxurious treasures he may find in an old castle town.

"What be bringin' yous to Alexandria, youngin'?"

The voice from a worker on the ship awoke him from his day dream. The boy kicked his feet up and smiled.

"Ah, y'know. Just a little change of scenery. Gonna find me a new job!"

"That so? What ye do back in good ol' Lindblum?"

The worker let out a heave and a grunt as he took one of the boxes down to have a seat on. The boy thought to himself for a moment.

"Delivery. Movin' things from one place to another," he gave the worker a wink, although he was the only one who understood the irony of his answer. The worker spent the rest of the evening describing the beauty of Alexandria to the boy. In the morning, he would arrive at his destination to start a new chapter in his life.


	2. A New Beginning

A/N: *Looks up from fake novel with fake glasses* Oh! You're still here! *Puts down fake novel and fake glass of wine* I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there. Thank you so much for coming back for Chapter 1. I know it is starting off a bit slow, but please bear with me. I promise there will be some nice Zidane/Dagger moments coming up within the first few chapters. 

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A New Beginning

Zidane stepped off the old cargo ship and stretched. He thanked the worker for his insight and for letting him come along for the ride. Scratching his back and looking around, he decided to familiarize himself with the town. Through the front gates he went, and almost immediately he realized how quaint the town was. A cobblestone square right at the entrance. Children ran and played, a few cats napped in the sun, birds flew overhead singing a light hearted song.

There was a nice little steeple and just past it were some docks. The water was lovely, a deep sapphire blue with hints of sky as it sparkled in the sunlight. A perfect warm breeze fluttered by around his bare shoulders and through his long hair, and the castle... A colossal pillar shot high into the sky, shimmering a plethora of colors dancing as rays from the sun caressed the giant crystal. He could have sat there on the dock all day admiring the beauty of this small town, but he was here for a reason.

Remembering passing a pub earlier that morning, he headed back that way and entered through the swinging doors. A young woman was drying glasses behind the counter and looked up.

"Can't you see, the sign says we're closed."

"Oh... Does it?" he asked in surprise. He pulled the door back to inspect it. "I guess it does..." he said sheepishly. "Would the pretty lady still be interested in answering a few questions?" he smiled hopefully at the woman.

She raised an eyebrow, "Like what kind of questions?"

"Like where a newcomer might be able to find some work," he quickly added on with a smile in hopes to impress her, "I'm from Lindblum."

"Uh huh..." she still seemed unamused. Continuing on with her drying of the dishes, "Well, we're not hiring here. Not sure who else would be hiring. It's a small town, y'see. Lots of small family businesses. Not much room for hiring outsiders, not much traffic through the town 'cept 'round the holidays."

She put down a glass and then tilted her head as if remembering something. "Well..." She looked him head to toe. "I did hear the other night from some o' the regulars, the royal knights are lookin' for a new recruit. Some o' the guys were thinkin' of tryin' out," she gave an amused huff at that. "You look like you're pretty strong though. You might just have a chance."

Zidane thought for a moment. Yeah. Working around the castle certainly would give him a better chance at finding some royal loot. What a perfect opportunity. "Say, when are these tryouts?" he asked.

"Lucky you got here when you did. I think they were supposed to be this morning at the crack of dawn. They might still be holdin' them if you hurry on over to the gondolas," she gave him a smile.

"I'd best be making my way then!" he dropped a few coins on the counter. "For the pretty lady's help," he winked at her and ran back out the swinging double doors. The young blonde ran through the central square and to the mini harbor where the gondolas to the castle came and went. There he found a scrawny guy wheezing for air on the grass and a large man in worn and tattered armor looking down at him, judging his every action.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" he shouted angrily. "This will not do at all!"

The scrawny man scrambled up to his feet and ran past Zidane. The large, angry knight huffed in a fit of rage, mumbling something about how there were no longer any fine youth and noticed Zidane standing there, watching in amazement.

"What," he snapped. He looked Zidane up and down, "Don't tell me you are looking to become a knight too."

"Actually..." Zidane started, "Yes, sir, that is what I'm here for!"

"Gah!" the man threw his hands in the air, "Yet another scrawny one. What are these kids even doing these days?"

"Hey, I'm not that scrawny," Zidane shrugged. "I am a very skilled and agile fighter as well. Not to brag or anything..." he added on smugly.

"Alright! Drop and give me one hundred! Not a second of hesitation in between!" the man got right in Zidane's face, spewing a few drops of spit, so close that Zidane could now see his very large eyelashes and twitched a little in discomfort.

"Hey, no sweat, boss," he took a couple steps back and did as he was told.

The man had a bit of a sparkle in his eye at the potential that had far surpassed any of the other candidates that day.

"Alright! Give me fifty squats! None of that sissy half-way business! Your ass had better almost kiss dirt each time!"

Zidane once again complied and was then instructed to do a multitude of other tasks including a full fledged obstacle course and rowing the large knight to the other side of the lake within a certain time limit. It was almost sunset before the man started letting up.

"Boy! State your name!" he commanded.

"Zidane Tribal," he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

"Hmm..." he eyed Zidane carefully and suspiciously.

Zidane gulped a little bit wondering if the knight had started to suspect he came from a life of crime. The man smacked the young boy on the back.

"Welcome to the Knights of Pluto, Zidane! I am your captain, Adelbert Steiner," he gave a proud smile.

Zidane let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the grass beneath his feet.


End file.
